This week for the Rangers began with a select set of qualifiers going to the MISCA Invitational meet. This was a great opportunity for some of the best swimmers in the area to showcase their skills and improve their times. 

Freshman Cole Hysong beat everyone there, winning the diving event with his time of 342.45. On the swimming end, junior Avery LeTourneau had a standout performance, with seventh-place finishes in the 50-yard free and 100-yard back. His blazing fast times in those races were 21.72 and 53.83. 

Senior CJ Hier also had a great meet, with his time of 2:01.07 securing him an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley. Finally, the team of Avery, CJ, senior Kyle Carter, and sophomore Ben Rogala took fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with their time of 3:20.48.

With this great lead into the week, these swimmers joined the rest of the team to win a dual meet against Northview 106-80. This was a great meet for the Rangers, solidly defeating a team that could have potentially given the Rangers trouble if they were not on their game. 

The meet opened with CJ, Ben, Avery, and sophomore Benji Zorn winning the 200-yard medley relay with their time of 1:39.4. Avery followed this up with a win in the 200-yard freestyle with his time of 1:48.56. CJ then took his win in the 200-yard individual medley with his time of 2:01.90. 

This win streak was broken in the 50-yard free, where Ben took second with his time of 23.34, less than a second slower than first. Cole took care of business after that, taking first in the diving event with his score of 253.80. Kyle then took second in the 100-yard fly with his time of 56.96.

Avery got his third first place of the meet, with a win in the 100-yard freestyle. His time was 49.09. After this, senior Andrew Kerssies took third in the 500-yard free with his time of 5:28.02. Freshman Gavin Cai, senior Dani Ahmetovic, freshman Isaac Stewart, and sophomore Aden Pomeroy then took second 200-yard freestyle relay.

CJ secured another win in the 100-yard backstroke with his time of 54.38. Benji then took second in the 100-yard breaststroke with his time of 1:04.63. To end, Ben, Kyle, CJ, and Avery took first in the 400-yard freestyle relay with their time of 3:25.78. 

This was a great meet for the Rangers, finishing their dual meet season with a great performance all around. Next week brings conferences, which will be the ultimate test of the Rangers’ abilities. Moving into this meet, the Rangers are probably aiming for a second-place finish, as East Grand Rapids is a near undefeatable opponent in the conference. Second will be a tough goal to shoot for, but the Rangers have shown these last two meets they are ready for whatever is thrown at them.